The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov

by

Fyodor Dostoevsky

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Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov Character Analysis

Fyodor Pavlovich’s faithful servant who raised Dmitri Fyodorovich from the age of three. He is married to Marfa Ignatievna. He detested Fyodor’s first wife, Adelaida Ivanovna, but defended the honor of his second wife, Sofia Ivanovna, by chasing Fyodor’s orgy partners out of the house. The narrator describes Grigory as “a firm and unwavering man,” though he is actually stubborn to the point of self-defeat; he persistently pursues his points, however illogical they may be, as though they were immutable truths. Otherwise, he is “honest and incorruptible” but regards all women as “without honor.” He is also extremely loyal; after the emancipation of the serfs, he refused his wife’s suggestion that they leave the Karamazovs and go to Moscow. He nearly dies after Dmitri Fyodorovich hits him over the head with the pestle that he took from Fenya’s table while trying to escape from Fyodor’s property.

Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov Quotes in The Brothers Karamazov

The The Brothers Karamazov quotes below are all either spoken by Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov or refer to Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Faith vs. Reason Theme Icon
).
Part 4: Book 12, Chapter 12 Quotes

“I gathered some information: he hated his origin, was ashamed of it, and gnashed his teeth when he recalled that he was ‘descended from Stinking Lizaveta.’ He was irreverent towards the servant Grigory and his wife, who had been his childhood benefactors. He cursed Russia and laughed at her. He dreamed of going to France and remaking himself as a Frenchman. He used to talk about it often and said that he only lacked the means to do so. It seems to me that he loved no one but himself, and his respect for himself was peculiarly high [….] Considering himself (and there are facts to support it) the illegitimate son of Fyodor Pavlovich, he might very well detest his position as compared with that of his master’s legitimate children: everything goes to them […] to them all the rights, to them the inheritance, while he is just a cook.”

Related Characters: Fetyukovich (speaker), Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, Pavel Fyodorovich Smerdyakov, Lizaveta Smerdyashchaya (“Stinking Lizaveta”), Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov, Marfa Ignatievna
Page Number: 738
Explanation and Analysis:
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Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov Quotes in The Brothers Karamazov

The The Brothers Karamazov quotes below are all either spoken by Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov or refer to Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Faith vs. Reason Theme Icon
).
Part 4: Book 12, Chapter 12 Quotes

“I gathered some information: he hated his origin, was ashamed of it, and gnashed his teeth when he recalled that he was ‘descended from Stinking Lizaveta.’ He was irreverent towards the servant Grigory and his wife, who had been his childhood benefactors. He cursed Russia and laughed at her. He dreamed of going to France and remaking himself as a Frenchman. He used to talk about it often and said that he only lacked the means to do so. It seems to me that he loved no one but himself, and his respect for himself was peculiarly high [….] Considering himself (and there are facts to support it) the illegitimate son of Fyodor Pavlovich, he might very well detest his position as compared with that of his master’s legitimate children: everything goes to them […] to them all the rights, to them the inheritance, while he is just a cook.”

Related Characters: Fetyukovich (speaker), Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, Pavel Fyodorovich Smerdyakov, Lizaveta Smerdyashchaya (“Stinking Lizaveta”), Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov, Marfa Ignatievna
Page Number: 738
Explanation and Analysis: